Bose Companion 5 multimedia speaker system Graphite Silver
Bose Companion 5 multimedia speaker system Graphite Silver
Our premium computer speakers deliver multichannel sound that seems to surround you, specifically designed for computer listening. Just right for music, games and moviesand setup is a snap. The Companion(R) 5 multimedia speaker system is engineered to deliver the excitement of surround sound content right at your computerwithout the clutter of five speakers. Just two small speakers and a hideaway Acoustimass(R) module deliver much of the audio performance you’d expect from a five-speaker surround sound system. And a single USB connection is all it takesno special software, hardware or sound card upgrade necessary.*
The system features a handy, all-in-one control pod to keep speaker volume control, single-touch mute, headphone jack and an auxiliary input all within easy reach. Speakers are mounted on stands enabling superb performance and more usable desktop space.
*For optimum performance, we recommend Windows XP or later. For Macintosh computers, OS X 10.4.6 or later.
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars All that everyone says, but here are the drawbacks
Don’t get me wrong– I recommend purchasing these speakers. I am a previous several year owner of the Companion 3 series 1 speakers and loved almost everything about them. Having had these speakers a few weeks now there are two features I think it’s important to know before you buy them:
1. You CAN remove them from the stands if you need to. I know that Bose does not recommend it, but I run several monitors wide enough that they consume the entire width of the desk. There was no good place to put the speakers and stands except facing toward me, and that’s not recommended.
2. These speakers will turn themselves off after some amount of time if the source inputting to them turns off. This is great for energy savings, however, for me this is a horrible feature. I have my computer setup in my bedroom, and my aux input to the speakers is my TV (as I had done with my companion 3 series 1 set). I can now no longer lie in bed in the morning and turn the TV on and hear the sound through the speakers since they automatically turn off when I turn the TV off. I haven’t researched a way to change this, but I see no buttons on the sub or the power fob. I’ve always thought Bose speaker sets were ripe for a remote control. Now I’m certain about that.
And again, if you want crisp clean sound, and the two issues I mentioned above do not affect the way you would use them, I still highly recommend this set.
2 Stars OVERPROCESSED SOUND
Though they sounded quite promising in the store, I was shocked how artificial-sounding the audio was when applied to music I knew. First off the highs are way too piercing and tinny. Vocals often seem lost in the surround effect to the degree that it almost as if they’ve been remixed, and you may actually find yourself straining to single them out of the soup. Overall this system takes way too many liberties to achieve the illusion of greater separation,and IMO manipulates your music too far away from what it’s supposed to sound like.
By the way, I’m not a BOSE-BASHER, most of my audio equipment/speakers are BOSE.
5 Stars Worth every penny
The sound is perfect, awesome and very loud — if you like it loud — but if you just like great sound, the best sound, at any volume, you will not be disappointed with this purchase.
It seems really expensive, until you plug it in an listen to it. Then, it is worth every penny.
4 Stars Oustanding speakers, but…
The Bose Companion 5 speakers have the best sound I have heard on any set of computer speakers. The glowing praises given by many of the other reviewers are right on target.
I do listen to most of my music through these speakers, which are connected to my one year old Alienware computer. And if that was all I needed from my speakers, I could not be happier.
However, as a person who also spends more than 30 hours a week using other USB devices, including a Plantronics headset, a Wacom drawing tablet, a scanner/printer, mouse and keyboard, I would not recommend these speakers for the simple reason that the Bose speakers take a very large amount of USB bandwith. Before I owned these speakers, I was not aware that USB bandwith would ever be a problem.
Practically speaking, I cannot fully use programs like Ventrillo while I play online games (WOW and WAR); I cannot listen to music with WMP while using any voice messaging program (MS Messenger); and I cannot listen to music while using my Wacom tablet with programs like PAINT and such.
I do give this product 4 stars, though I still waver over whether I should give it only 3. By the way, this issue is acknowledged by BOSE on their web site, with no work around given, other than to limit the use of any other USB device.
5 Stars Great Sound
It really does simulate the surround. I pretty much replaced my messy 5.1 logitech system.
